Fragile
by bloodandcocoa
Summary: Carmilla's eyesight was dimmer, hearing was worse, she could feel a sharp pain in her chest and a throbbing in her shoulder. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this way. Felt so fragile, so human. Prompt fill. AU where Danny and Carmilla swaps powers.


**Hi! So I got an anon prompt on my tumblr which I frantically wrote. Sorry it's a little late, anon. The prompt was:** _**Danny/Carmilla or Danny/Laura/Carmilla, Danny and Carmilla are sparring when somehow their powers and strengths gets switched, and Danny accidentally seriously hurts Carm?**_

**This also took off in a different direction than I expected, as usual. It's pretty angsty. And there's some gruesome depictions which I got to use my fun bio knowledge at last. So yeah! Feel free to hit me up with prompts at any time! Please don't be offended if I don't reply, I'm still figuring out tumblr, but know that I have seen it and am most likely writing it. But shoot me another one if you think I missed it. Enjoy!**

**Cheers!**

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><p>Human's were incredible creatures. Capable of amazing feats and intelligent beyond all measure. But they were so fragile. Brittle bones and soft skin did not defend against the world as well as sharpened claws and pointed fangs did.<p>

Carmilla can't remember the last time she felt so fragile, so delicate. Like the slightest wind might bowl her over.

"Laura! Laura! Help! " Why was everything muffled? It was like her ears were clogged, a low droning sound in the background that she couldn't quite hear. A door slammed open, thundering footsteps, a gasp. There was a stabbing pain in her chest and her right arm felt like it was on fire.

"Danny? Oh my gosh! Carmilla! What happened?" Laura's face loomed into view, her eyebrows knitted together in concern. Danny stood in the doorway, terrified. She cradled a whimpering Carmilla to her chest. The vampire's beautiful features were twisted in pain, her breathing shallow and fast. Gently, Danny laid their girlfriend down on the bed.

"What happened?" Laura brushed dark bangs off of her girlfriend's sweaty forehead.

"So we were sparring out in the clearing, and I rushed her with left hook," Danny began, already pacing up and down the length of the room.

"Danny! You did this to her? We said no bodily harm when I agreed to let you two spar to keep sharp!" Danny immediately looked guilty, quarantining herself in the far corner, refusing to meet anybody's gaze.

"I know," she whispered sadly, staring at her own hands with a betrayed look.

"Wasn't Red's fault, Cupcake," Carmilla croaked. The dark haired girl took a deep breath and immediately winced. Definitely had some broken ribs. Or at least cracked ribs. Laura was already rummaging around in the fridge for some blood for the vampire.

"One of Alchemy Club's experiments went wrong. They were transporting vials and dropped one, which exploded in the clearing. We didn't pay much attention to it at all, it kinda just fizzled by the bushes. But then when I was- I was charging at Carm, and she blocked my punch so I twisted to around and there was this bright flash of light and, and," Danny's voice broke. She remembered the feeling clearly. One minute everything was normal, the next minute everything was in heightened detail.

Danny could remember in excruciatingly clear detail the crunch of Carmilla's ribs as Danny's elbow drove into the vampire's cut, the look of shock on Carmilla's face as she was thrown back by the force of the blow, the unnatural cry of pain that clawed its way out of Carmilla's throat. The ginger shuddered and sank down in the corner to curl up in a ball.

Laura grimly returned to Carmilla's bedside with the soy milk container, typical Alchemy Club. Those idiots should really be more careful with their experiments, especially when taking into consideration the sheer amount of 'accidents' they had. However, Carmilla waved the blood container off, refusing to even look at the container. "We... switched...powers," she groaned painfully, cradling her busted ribs with an equally battered looking arm.

Did breaking bones hurt this much? She didn't remember them hurting this much.

"Oh no," Laura stared at her two girlfriends with wide eyes, one was broken on the bed, the other was curled up in a helpless ball in the corner. Hastily, she checked Carmilla's pulse. Her girlfriends were stuck in this half way state, Carmilla was still very much a vampire- no heartbeat, cold skin, and Danny, a human. But Carmilla no longer had her vampiric constitution that seemed to make her invulnerable to her idiotic tendencies. Vampiric constitution also included increased healing and tougher bones. Danny couldn't control her newfound strength very well either, by the looks of the deep gouges she was making in the cabinet doors.

"Okay, Danny? Danny, honey." Laura rushed over to her giant girlfriend, using the sweetest tone she could muster up to coax the other girl into a sitting position. "Okay, do you know where LaF and Perry are?"

"I-I ran into them on the way back. And they went to sort things out with the Alchemy Club," Danny clung onto Laura's hands, her grip feather light. The girl looked so remorseful and teary eyed that Laura couldn't help but bend down and give her a hug.

"Okay, we're going to need to get Carm patched up until she gets her healing powers back," Laura cupped Danny's face in her hands, bringing the ginger's face up to meet hers. She kissed her, gently, softly. "Danny, I need your help. Can you do this?"

Danny bit her lip, clearly torn. She wanted to help her girlfriends and undo the damage that she caused, but she didn't trust herself. Her new strength terrified her, what if she made everything worse? But Laura was begging her, her eyes teary, innocent and trusting. As terrified as she was, she had to do this for Laura, for Carmilla. They needed her, she had to be strong.

"Yes."

Laura breathed a sigh of relief, she didn't think she could handle taking care of both her girlfriends. Carm whimpered loudly from the bed. "Good. Now can you grab the first aid kit while I get Carm's shirt off?" Danny nodded, and rushed off to retrieve the massively oversized first aid kit from underneath the bed. With great care, Laura peeled the red plaid shirt off. The shirt, unlike its wearer, was unscathed and came off without much trouble. The brunette gasped as she saw the true extent of the damage. A web of purple had already spread across Carmilla's chest, her shoulder looked mangled, and that was what Laura could see without taking the tank top off. No blood or open wounds though.

"Oh Artemis," there was a thunk and Laura turned to see Danny's form disappear into the bathroom, followed by violent retching. Sure, Danny had seen gore before, but to think that she had caused such damage- with her own hands and to someone she loved? That was all too much for her. The first aid kit sat where Danny had dropped it in the middle of room.

Laura sighed and dug through the first aid kit. "Danny? You okay?" Silence. She rubbed her temples, Carmilla first. Danny could wait. Hastily, Laura pulled out a bottle of the strongest painkillers she had. Her dad had been a little paranoid, this stuff was military grade and probably not legal for a college student to have lying around, but Laura was so thankful right now. She filled a glass of water from the sink, paused, and filled a second one. Danny would probably need it too.

"Carm?" A whimper. "I have some painkillers here that I need you to take. It'll help with the pain." Carmilla groaned as Laura propped her up into a sitting position, allowing the vampire to use her body as a back rest. The dark-haired girl swallowed the two pills gratefully and closed her eyes, relishing in Laura's body heat. "What hurts?"

"Ribs are fractured I think," Carmilla prodded her midsection gingerly, years of broken bones told her that the ribs were cracked and not broken. Hurt more than she ever remembered though. "Shoulder's dislocated though."

Danny came out of the bathroom, face a few shades paler. Carmilla opened her eyes and reached out a hand towards Danny, beckoning for her to come closer. Shyly, the other girl did, taking Carmilla's offered hand. "It's okay Red, this wasn't your fault." Laura pressed the other glass into Danny's shaking hand. She drank it wordlessly.

"I'm going to relocate the shoulder. This is going to hurt, a lot. Keep your eyes on Danny, Carm." Laura knelt by the bed, allowing Danny to sidle up beside the vampire and support her weight. The tiny human had seen this done a few times before. Her dad had been a field medic in with the army, and resetting dislocated shoulders were a normal thing. Of course, her dad had been the one to reset hers when five year old Laura dislocated it on the monkey bars, and then again when Laura was sixteen and dislocated the other shoulder falling out of her treehouse.

"Danny, talk to her, distract her." Laura took a deep breath. She could do this. One hand on the shoulder to help move it back into place, the other held onto Carmilla's bicep firmly, just above the elbow.

"I'm so sorry that I hurt you. I never meant to. I would never hurt you. I'm so sorry," Danny was a blubbering mess of wild hair and weepy blue eyes. That wasn't what Laura meant, but it would do. While Carmilla was busy trying to soothe the flustered lit TA, Laura gently raised Carmilla's arm while simultaneously pulling it away from her side. Carmilla let out a cry of pain, she was unused to these new intense sensations. Laura closed her eyes with a grimace and continued her ministrations. A sharp pop interrupted whatever Danny's next sentence was and Danny was suddenly baring her forearm for Carmilla, who bit down instinctively, muffling her pained howl.

The ginger let out a low growl. It didn't hurt nearly as much as she thought it would. Carmilla had bit her once before, it was a playful nip after Danny stole a cookie from right between her fangs. Not hard enough to draw blood, but it left some indentations on the ginger's collarbone. That nip probably hurt more than this.

Once the pain in her shoulder faded to a dull throb and Carmilla came to her senses, she immediately released Danny's arm with a horrified gasp. All three of them watched with fascination as the bite marks sizzled and healed over. Wide eyes met wide eyes as the marks faded into white outlines on otherwise flawless skin.

"Oh," Danny eeped.

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><p>Carmilla was grounded to dorm 307 and more importantly, the bed, until LaFontaine and Perry came back with a cure. Laura was sitting in her desk chair, it was day four of Carmilla's 'house arrest'. The first three days were actually okay. Other than the odd request for an extra blanket, or to help her sit up, Carmilla had been silent, staring at her own hands. At first Laura thought that Carmilla had a head injury as well but the vampire shook her head. <em>"Just thinking, Cupcake." <em>Danny tried keeping her distance, terrified that she might accidentally further injure the already injured vampire but Carmilla only got more cuddly, adamantly demanding Danny to come cuddle with her. She was having issues with the whole body temperature thing and Danny was still the best source of heat in the room. Danny could never resist Carmilla. Laura knew that this was Carmilla's way of proving to Danny that she was forgiven, even when the redhead had not forgiven herself.

Laura also knew that Carmilla was in a lot more pain than she let on. She only took painkillers at Laura or Danny's insistence and spent most days in bed, wrapped up in her own thoughts. Danny brought her whatever she requested, and whatever she didn't request, no matter how ridiculous. But what was truly ridiculous was the amount of food that Carmilla consumed. They were unsure whether or not to give the vampire with no vampire powers blood, but Danny didn't seem to need blood and Carmilla never said any thing, so normal food it was. The soy milk container was always within easy reach though.

Perry dropped by three separate times with a giant tupperware container of pasta, and then fried rice, and then scallops with potato pancakes. Carmilla ate the majority of it (and half of Danny's plate- who claimed she wasn't hungry), which was a little disturbing to watch, but she definitely looked better than when Danny first carried her in. LaFontaine popped by a couple times too, just to check on Carmilla's injuries and to make sure Laura's nursing skills were up to their standards. Mainly, they were there to ask if Danny could go hunt down one obscure things after another for the cure they were working on. Like what the friilly hell was _Black of Night_? Danny was more than happy to go, she was still wrapped up in earning her forgiveness and eager to let off some steam. Carmilla always watched her dash out of the room with unreadable eyes.

Danny had just returned from wherever she had wandered off to, interrupting Laura's scrutinisation of the whole situation. But she looked absolutely exhausted, a thin sheen of sweat covering her. Upon entering the room, she shot Laura an apologetic look for running off. Originally, the ginger had been trying to cook scrambled eggs for Carmilla, but ran off in the midst off it, leaving several crushed eggs in her wake. She also brought back Perry's famous brownies, hot out of the oven, which were promptly devoured. Carmilla had been huddled under the pile of blankets, but upon Danny's return, ditched all but one blanket in favour of Danny the space heater. Laura was about to join them in the bed when LaFontaine burst into the room triumphantly, a vial clutched in their hand. They said nothing and just tossed the vial onto bookshelf at the head of the bed.

The vial shattered, emitting a flash of white light. When the light finally vanished, LaFontaine was gone, the shattered glass was the only evidence that they were ever there. Laura gaped at what had just happened. "What was that?"

Carmilla shrugged awkwardly, restricted by the sling. She gasped, realizing what she had just done and realizing that her shoulder no longer hurt. "It worked?" the sling went flying through the air and the vampire flexed, pleased with the return of her powers. She grunted when Danny leapt off the bed and onto her back, enveloping her in a giant bear hug. "I don't know how you do it. How you manage to restrain yourself around us, how weak we must seem to you. I spent so much time in the forest, trying to control my strength. I couldn't even pick up an egg without crushing it or dropping it. I was terrified." The girl turned to peer over Carmilla's head at Laura, "I'm sorry for running off this morning."

That's what breakfast all was about.

Carmilla brought Danny's face down for a soft kiss, "I forget how fragile humans are. How easily bones break and skin tears. How long it takes to recover. It's been such a long time since I've been human that I've forgotten that for all of your beauty and your brilliance, you are simply human." Carmilla tugged Laura closer so they were a tangle of bodies and limbs. "You are my wonderful, beautiful, fragile human. Both of you. But you are not weak. That's what I've remembered, being human doesn't make you weak."


End file.
